Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 148238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
My back arched into his touch.
He hissed, pressing his throbbing cock against me. “I need to be inside you, Cleo.”
My eyes snapped closed at the use of my name. A full-body tremble at finally knowing where my home was.
In his arms. In his heart.
“You like that?” he murmured. “You like it when I call you Cleo? My Cleo?”
I moaned as his mouth trailed over my jaw and down my throat. “Do you want to know what I’m going to do to you, Cleo? I’m going to lick every inch, inhale every part, and then I’m going to sink slowly into your heat and make you come with your legs wrapped around my ass.”
My eyes were so damn heavy, I struggled to open them to look into his gaze. “You want me to wrap my legs around you?”
He nodded, his beautiful lips wet and red. “I want your chest against mine. I want your arms tight around me, and I want your breath in my mouth. I’ve wanted you to touch me since the last time I saw you. Give me what I’ve always denied myself because I couldn’t stomach any other woman taking your place.”
“I love you!” he called from across the compound. The sun soaked into his dark hair, the floppy silky strands mussed from our make-out session behind the garage.
“I love you, too! Don’t be late tonight.”
He grinned, waving once before jogging to his house.
My breath caught at the memory. Had that been the last time I’d ever seen him?
The melancholy and confusion threatened to destroy the heat in my heart. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him close. “I want you to look into my eyes when you slide inside me. I want you to see how much having your body in mine affects my soul.”
He groaned, kissing me hard. His lips were weapons, his tongue a tool, making me writhe and want.
I wanted him to make love to me.
“I want to steal your breath, so you only survive while I breathe for you.” The agony in his voice hurt me deep. He had so much still hurting him.
Whispering, I said, “I want you to come inside me, so I can claim a part of you.”
His eyes flared, kissing me gently. “You don’t know if you’re on protection.”
I shook my head. I did remember. A random memory to have come clear, but there it was. “I had a coil inserted a few years ago. I can’t get pregnant.”
His eyes bored into mine. He didn’t ask why I’d taken such serious measures to never get pregnant. He didn’t ask how many lovers I’d had. He just scooped me closer and breathed, “I’ve never been with a woman without a condom. Never.”
I held his cheeks, my fingers burning from his heat.
His lips parted and he pressed me bone-breakingly hard against him. We fell together, kissing, touching. My hand wiggled its way between our glued bodies, finding his hard length and cupping boldly.
I stroked him. Hard, possessive—claiming.
His mouth opened wide beneath mine, coming undone. His legs twitched and a guttural groan sounded in his chest.
My heart raced as I grew wet with power. “Do you like that? Like having my fingers around you?”
His eyes snapped tight. “You have no idea. Being touched—it feels so damn good. But knowing it’s you? My Buttercup.”
A cry fell from my lips.
Kill gathered me close. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Mean to what?”
“Use that nickname. I know it belonged to your dad.”
I shook my head. “Use it. It’s yours as much as his.”
Concern for my parents hit me quick and hard.
… it belonged to your dad.
What did he mean by that? Past tense because of us, or had he died?
My heart fisted at the thought of my parents gone. Then my stomach cramped at the thought of them living the past eight years believing I was rotting in the ground.
“God, my parents.” I clutched Kill’s shoulders. I wanted to ignore the need to know—it wasn’t exactly the best time to ask—but I couldn’t stop the question falling between us like a blot of ink. “Where are they?”
The heated air between us went frigid; Kill stiffened into an unyielding plank. The tightness of his muscles and unreadable look in his eyes made my heart thud. “Where are they, Kill?”
A heavy second ticked past, then another. Finally, he closed his eyes and kissed me deeply. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”
His lips trailed a path of fire down my sternum as he shifted his body, flattening me below. “And please don’t call me that anymore. Not when we’re alone.”
When will you tell me?
I wanted to push, but swallowed my impatience. Tilting my head, I focused on the easier subject. “What should I call you?”
He chuckled, sounding strained and forced against my collarbone. “What you called me all those years ago. I want to hear it.”